Photography tips and tutorial blog

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Photography Tips and Tutorials from Northof49Photography

We have compiled a list of the TOP50 questions that we hear on our workshops. From gear, to settings, to composition, and shooting styles, we have decided to post three questions and answers a week till we get through them all.

We hope they answer some of the questions that you may have. Here is todays question.

Question: How do I stop my camera from fogging up when I come inside from the cold?

Answer: Let’s look at why this happens because this is something that we constantly teach on our snowy owl workshops we run in Canada during the winter months.

When the air near the lens is cooled by the lens, the relative humidity of the surrounding air will quickly increases. As air cools it loses its ability to carry water vapor. Once the relative humidity reaches near 100% and greater water will begin to collect on the lens. Even if the air is fairly dry, if the temperature difference is great enough you will get lens fog.

So how do we stop this? There are two ways. The first is to use hand warmers and place them on the barrel of the lens. This will warm up and dry both the external glass and the internal elements, help staving off mold that could grow inside your lens.

The second way could be to wrap your camera in a bag as some people say, but that creates moisture inside the lining of the bag… that I am not a proponent of… but my suggestion, and one I employ is to take your coat that you wore outside. It is the same temperature as the lens and camera. Take that coat and wrap your camera so the outer shell is against the camera. That allows the camera and lens to warm naturally, surrounded by air that is initially cool… both the air and camera gear will warm naturally and thereby eliminating the moisture and fog on your camera gear.

If you have any further comments, please add them to the comments section below. The more feedback and ideas the better.

Kevin is a photographer and educator based in Waterloo, Ontario. His first love is photographing nature, regardless of the season or weather condition; the Ontario landscape and its wildlife are his inspiration. But you will also see other styles of photography in his portfolio. From street photography to urban exploration of abandoned buildings and architecture, he loves to capture it all with his camera for his corporate clients and his growing personal portfolio. Kevin’s images have been featured in Canadian Nature Photographer, PHOTONews Canada, Photo Technique Magazine, The London Free Press, The Weather Network, and National Geographic Online. His diverse client list includes the City of Cambridge, Olympus, GORE Mutual, TVO, and African Lion Safari. Kevin also operates “Northof49 Photography”, a company launched in 2012 dedicated to teaching amateur photographers through International and Canadian-based workshops. In the coming year, Kevin will be leading workshops in Iceland, Mongolia, Tanzania, Venezuela, Provence, and numerous destinations across Canada. Website: www.kevinpepperphotography.com